Bizarre event, very thankful no harm

[Catrin]

I don't want this to sound like a whine, but I do seem to be in the habit of having unusual things happen. Thankfully no real harm so I am very thankful.

I took my Kia Soul for servicing and tire rotation after work, (I work 4 nine hour days and 1 four). I was debating either bike riding or grocery shopping afterwards, but the afternoon had other ideas for me.

Do you know what happens when the mechanic doesn't tighten the lugs on a tire properly? The wheel falls off Actually they told me this is a very rare occurrence for it to go this far, but they would likely say that.

Thankfully I started hearing strange noises as I pulled out on the street, so I made a U-turn at the first possible opportunity. As soon as I straightened out of the turn my front drivers tire fell off. Completely. I was still in front of the dealer, and that entire street has 4-5 locations owned by the same dealer, just different car "brands". I called the service number and they were with me in about 5 minutes. I initially thought that they had forgotten the lugs entirely, but they were all there.

There is body damage of course, hopefully the brake rotor is fine since THAT is steel, but we will see. They appear to be making every effort to take care of this properly. They gave me a Kia Sorento as a loaner for however long it takes them to fix my car, and they promised to do right by me on this. I've done business with this dealer for years now and have never known them to not do things right, so I will be satisfied if they simply take care of things and do the repair. They have a collision body shop right there.

I am unashamed to admit that this incident shook me a bit. I was on my way to the interstate to head to Whole Foods, and if I had been going any faster (or even on the interstate) when that wheel fell off... well, I am thankful that things weren't any worse. It seemed best to hold off on shopping until rush hour dies down, I don't want to risk getting stuck in it driving a larger and unfamiliar vehicle. I thought about going for a ride, but I am a bit too shaken for that. I will relax with book and soothing herbal tea and just be thankful. I do think I need to get out later though, I need to get around people and not spend all evening n my apartment thinking about this.

[Trek-chick]

Holy Cow!!! That would be scary--glad to hear you are ok. Keep us posted on the car, and how this all comes to a conclusion.

[Blueberry]

We almost had that happen a few years ago, but caught it before the wheel fell off.

&*it happens. Be thankful it wasn't worse and they're covering it, and move on - don't focus on that "what if's" - there are way too many of those. You know what? They didn't actually happen. Glad it wasn't worse.

[Catrin]

We almost had that happen a few years ago, but caught it before the wheel fell off.

&*it happens. Be thankful it wasn't worse and they're covering it, and move on - don't focus on that "what if's" - there are way too many of those. You know what? They didn't actually happen. Glad it wasn't worse.

Exactly - I am very thankful it wasn't worse and they appear to be taking care of things as they should. I am thinking about going to a movie tonight to get my mind off of it, perhaps go see Skyfall (which I want to do anyway).

[Giulianna23]

Wow...Catrin...glad you OK.....good they asisted you right away!... hope you get your car fix soon. In the mean time...enjoy the SUV...

[OakLeaf]

Oh man. So glad you're okay.

I would make sure they check for axle, hub and suspension damage. Maybe even the steering linkages. Body damage is just cosmetic. Definitely you want them to do an alignment. A lot of stuff could've gotten tweaked when the axle hit the ground, and a minor tweak could be the kind of thing that you might not notice right away, but that could set up weird wear patterns and potentially be expensive and/or dangerous down the road.

[Catrin]

Thanks Oakleaf, I will remember your suggestions and ask them about that when they call me with an update. Right now we don't know how long they will have my car. They needed to get their own estimate and their person who does that was quite backed up when I was there. Thankfully I wasn't going much more than 1-mph when the impact happen, there weren't even any marks on the pavement. Of course that doesn't mean those things don't need checking, but it does make me a bit more hopeful.

I already miss my Soul, the Sorento is nice, just a little too large for my taste. Thankful to have something nice to drive that I don't have to pay for!

[Crankin]

Jeez, Catrin, I'd be shaken up, too. But, don't focus on the "what-ifs." Go to the movie.
It must be the day for this kind of stuff. Not to take the attention off of you, but this morning, I whacked my head, near the temple, into the corner of the open door of my car, getting into it at a client's home. It started swelling so quickly, I was scared to death. I was supposed to go on a ride with Hirakukibou, but I called her about 5 seconds after it happened, and wisely cancelled. Did not want to stop for ice, so I drove the 13 miles home, where DH pronounced it "horrible." I've been icing it and using Arnica, but although it no longer looks like an egg, there's a dark, swollen bruise in the center, with some lovely blueish area around it. No other signs of TBI, but I did cancel the rest of my appointments and did paperwork from home. Of course, it's a beautifully sunny day, but the weekend is here and make up can cover a lot of the damage...

[tulip]

Mercury is in retrograde. Just sayin.'

Catrin, glad you are okay. The dealer knows you could sue, so hopefully they will do right by you in a big way. That's a failure if quality control that is inexcusable in my book. Go to the movie and enjoy your weekend. Whew!

[OakLeaf]

Oh yikes Crankin, hope you don't suffer any ill effects and that your head heals quick!

[Crankin]

Praying that the blueish area that has inched down near my eye is somewhat gone tomorrow. The bigger bruise is somewhat under my bangs. I don't have a black eye, but it looks scary. And, I feel a little like I did after my car accident last summer; the other side of my body, that always feels impact is, well, hurting, like whiplash. But, that goes away. So far, no effects on my mental processing . DH is afraid that when we go out, he's going to be questioned!

[Catrin]

Eeek, take care of that Crankin!

Tulip - I agree. I thought I could see visions of lawsuits dancing in their brains when I got back to the service center. It was no less than a dangerous failure of quality control and I bet they don't do that again!

I've not been to the movies in something like 2 years, so I am going tonight. I decided to pay the $4 upcharge for IMAX, it is a bit of a splurge but I have got to get my mind off of this and back on track. Scavenging my kitchen now for something that looks like food since I didn't do my Friday afternoon shopping, but will do that early tomorrow.

[malkin]

Mercury is in retrograde. Just sayin.'

Well, thanks to y'all, I'm just going to hunker down and be careful!

[smilingcat]

Wow!! That would shake me up really bad!!

Mine was bit different. About 30 years ago, I owned a Toyota Tercel wagon. Loved the thing. Reliable, practical easy to drive. Took it in for a scheduled servicing and had the wheels rotated. Months down the road. One of the tires went flat at the office. I tried to take the lug nuts off and change the tire but the nuts would not budge. Of course guys were more than willing to give it their try and they did. Managed to break off the two of the four bolts. At which point, I called a tow truck and took it to a nearest tire place and had all the bolts replaced.

I was told by the owner of the tire shop that who ever did the tire rotation used an impact wrench and overtightened all the bolts... They could break off without warning and watch one of the tire go rolling off.

Yours came off!! OMG!! I would be too shaken up to be driving for the day!!

[Catrin]

I did have to go home for a few hours Smilingcat to chill, there is a reason why there is no food in the house that isn't frozen! I did make it to the movies though, and I am glad I went. I enjoyed it and it got my mind off of stuff.

Some years ago I wound up with a very old Geo Metro, it had electrical issues but I it was all I could afford. It came from a friend and the price was right. As it turned out, there was an issue with a rear bearing, and I had my shop at that time fix it. I picked it up, drove all the way across Indy. On the way home very strange noises started happening, and the car started shimming and shaking. I didn't have the money for a tow truck, and no cell phone. I had no idea what was going on so I kept driving it. I managed to get it all of the way back to the shop, and in that last block the car REALLY started doing bizarre stuff. It was indeed a huge problem with the bearing and the wheel was very crooked by that point. It never came off though...and they fixed it right the second time. I never went back to that shop...

Ok, time to go to bed now...